If a proposal of Human Resource Development (HRD) comes through, all Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) students will have access to interest-free loan for the entire tuition fee under the government's 'Vidyalakshmi' scheme at the time of admission.

The IIT council will approve the proposal shortly.

"As chairperson of the IIT council, the HRD minister is entitled to take the decision," a source said, according to TOI .

In its defence, the ministry said that the rationale for the hike was that the cost of the maintenance of IITs should be met largely from fees. The IIT council had also stated that the hike would ensure that the salary and maintenance bills, that come to over Rs 2,000 crore annually, are met.

The HRD ministry has also decided to make some changes in the pattern of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for 2017. From next year, a student's class 12 score will not be a factor for determining rankings in JEE for admissions to engineering graduate courses.

To qualify for appearing in exam, students need to have at least 75 percent marks or be in top 20 percentile in Class 12 examination. SC, ST students should have 65 percent marks. "All other JEE examination systems shall remain unchanged," an official said, according to PTI.